Health Benefits of Ballroom Dancing

Ballroom dancing looks elegant, is fun to do (and practice), and knowing how to ballroom dance can come in handy when you least expect it, for example, at a friends’ wedding reception. There are also many health benefits to learning how to ballroom dance, including:

Burning Calories

Just like most forms of exercise, ballroom dancing can help you lose weight. You burn off between 300 and 500 calories in just 30 minutes of dancing. Compare that to 30 minutes of hiking (170 calories), high impact aerobics (200 calories), hot yoga (200 calories), and bicycling (250 calories). The big difference lies within the many different types of movements made while dancing.

Improving Your Muscle Tone, Conditioning and Strengthening

Ballroom dancing makes you stronger. Your muscle tone will improve, you will be in better shape, will not become winded quite so easily, and will quickly become stronger overall. You will find yourself able to do things that you couldn’t do before, for example, walking up several flights of stairs, without hurting or being out of breath by the time you reach the top floor.

Your Mood Will Improve

Exercise has a big impact on your mood. It can decrease your stress levels, and boost the levels of serotonin in your brain, which will lead you to be less depressed, less anxious, and overall, happier than you were before you started to exercise. Taking a few dance lessons a week in which you can forget about your problems and worries, and at the same, relax and enjoy yourself, will put you in a better mood for several days afterward.

Improve Your Gracefulness in Everyday Life

A sense of grace—loosely defined as not tripping over your own two feet and being able to move with ease – is essential to your self-esteem. You will feel better about yourself once you have gained the gracefulness that comes with learning how to ballroom dance.